Tuesday, January 31st., 2017
Record Numbers of US Troops Conduct Joint Drills with Poland
Record Numbers of US Troops Conduct Joint Drills with Poland
©
AFP 2016/ JANEK SKARZYNSKI
Approximately
3,500 American troops have been deployed to Poland as part of a
deterrence campaign, marking the first time since World War II that the
US has sent soldiers there in such numbers.
January
marked the arrival of an armored brigade in Zagan, Poland, that had
been stationed at Fort Carson, Colorado. The US is cooperating
with Polish security forces to enhance military preparedness with ground
troops, tanks, and armored personnel carriers. The drills began Monday.
NATO has also stationed German infantry in Lithuania.
Polish President Andrzej Duda was delighted
at the prospect of better ties with Washington and the regional security
it might provide. “God bless Poland, God bless America, God bless
American soldiers,” Duda said, while observing the training operations.
Paul Jones, US Ambassador to Warsaw, was also in attendance. Both
officials said the American troops would improve regional security while
serving as a deterrence presence on NATO’s eastern flank.
The advanced US military units are some of America’s finest, Jones
declared. US troops are poised for deployment in Baltic states and
Romania, as well. The US has continually trumpeted potential Russian
military aggression, hence NATO’s sprint to bolster forces in the
region. The Third Brigade combat team’s station in Poland is part of an
initiative to establish how quickly armed forces can mobilize “from port
to field.”NATO has also stationed German infantry in Lithuania.
"Endless war-games and rotational deployments
essentially amount to permanent military presence," Sergei Ermakov,
analyst at the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies, said. "What we
have seen is only the tip of the iceberg," he added. NATO has pushed to station four infantry battalions in member states sharing borders with Russia by April 2017.
Congress has appropriated $1.7 billion to the Department of Defense
for the European Reassurance Initiative for fiscal year 2017. In 2016,
the DoD requested just $789.3 million, according to the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller).
310